In this article we will know that how world war 2 began, where did world war 2 start, how world war 2 changed the world, when world war 2 ended,
Let's start our story with the year 1919. It was the year when World War I ended. And a famous peace treaty was signed.
It is known as the Treaty of Versailles. There was an important clause in this treaty, Article 231. It said, that Germany was responsible for all the losses caused by World War I. This clause is also known as the War Guilt Clause, because it was basically saying that no matter which country the war was between, it was only Germany's fault. In reality, France and Britain wanted Germany to pay a heavy price for losing this war. And they wanted to compensate Germany for all their losses. As a result, according to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was asked to pay a fine of $33 billion to the other countries. Today's money is $270 billion. This is so much money that you wouldn't believe it, in 2010, Germany made the last payment of this money.
It took almost 100 years. And you might wonder where this money came from. Obviously, it came from the country. From the people. Germany made the first payment of this money in 1921. And immediately after that, there was a terrible hyperinflation in Germany. The currency of Germany at that time was the German Mark. It devalued so rapidly that you wouldn't believe it. In 1922, the cost of a bread packet in Berlin was 160 marks. The next year, in 1923, the cost of the same bread packet was 200 billion marks. Obviously, the economy went bankrupt, and unemployment increased rapidly. In such circumstances, our story is about Adolf Hitler. A young political leader, who knew very well how to fool the public with his speeches. In 1923, Hitler's Nazi Party tried to overthrow the German government by waging a coup.
Although this attempt failed, the popularity of Hitler grew among the people. Rumours spread among the people that Germany's embarrassment was unbearable. Germany's international humiliation was due to the anti-national elements in the country. People were very upset. It was easy to scare people. Hitler says that the Jews and the Socialists living in the country, it was their fault. Because of them, Germany was defamed. In the next 10 years, a lot of propaganda is used. The media is bought. There are incitement speeches. I won't go into too much detail because I talked about it in the Rise of Hitler video. If you haven't watched it, I'll put the link in the description below. In 1929, there was the Great Depression. Due to which, the unemployment rate went up.
In 1933, 6 million people were unemployed in Germany. Many people lost their homes due to starvation. As a result, in 1933, Hitler declared himself the dictator of Germany. After taking full control, Hitler set out to fulfil the dream of his German Empire. A German Reich. A nation that would be racially pure. Only the Aryan race would live here. There was no place for Jews and Slavic people here. To incite hatred among the people, a conspiracy theory of Judeo-Bolshevism was created. According to this conspiracy theory, the Russian Revolution in 1917, was actually carried out by the Jews. Because of this, the Soviet Union was formed. In 1935, the rest of the world found out that Germany had its own air force. You might ask, what's the big deal?
Every country has its own air force. But in the Treaty of Versailles, it was written that Germany could not have its own military. Hitler was openly violating the Treaty of Versailles. But at this point in time, many people in Britain thought that the Treaty of Versailles It was very unfair for Germany. We are charging them so much money. Look at the state of their country because of this. And it is also written that the country can't even have its own military. We shouldn't do this much. In June 1935, Britain signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement. Under this, it was formally recognised that Hitler had the right to build his own navy. That Germany could have its own navy. But seeing the growing militarisation of Germany, France became alert.
France built a fortification 450 km long on its eastern border. It was called the Maginot Line. In 1938, when Hitler felt that his military was ready, he took a first look at the neighboring Austria. Austria was a must-have country for Hitler. He wanted all the German-speaking countries to become one. The real aim was not only to seize other countries for his pride, but also to use the resources of other countries. to advance their country. The people whom Hitler considered racially superior, the people of his Aryan race, he wanted to give them Lebensraum. He wanted to give them a living space. So that they could live freely. In February 1938, Hitler met the Austrian Chancellor, Kurt Schuschnigg. Forcibly, an agreement was signed. Under this agreement, Hitler gave space to pro-Nazi people in the Austrian government.
The Austrian government was infiltrated, by appointing their own people. For example, Dr. Hans Fischbach, He had to become the new finance minister of Austria. He was a Nazi. And the rest of the Nazis in prison, were released from prison. Within a month, things went out of control. The Austrian Chancellor thought that if he had to stop the infiltration, why not ask the public, whether Austria wanted to remain an independent country, or become one with the Nazis. He wanted a national vote on this. As soon as Hitler got the news of the national vote, Hitler immediately took his army and marched into Austria. The German military entered Vienna. The Austrian Chancellor didn't want any bloodshed. He resigned from his seat. Hitler spread fake news through his propaganda ministry.
That there were riots in Vienna. And that the Communists were responsible for the riots. That's why the Austrian government has called our army to protect the country." The next day, the Austrian parliament was dissolved. And Austria was no longer an independent country. Without any bloodshed, the invasion was successful. The main reason behind this was that there were many people in favor of Hitler in Austria. Because they were also victims of propaganda. They thought that Hitler's invasion was a good thing. The country would become a superpower in this way. After the occupation of Austria, Hitler saw the next country. Czechoslovakia. On the border of Czechoslovakia, there was a region called Sudetenland. The people who lived there, about 300,000 of them were Germans. Hitler used this point as an excuse, saying that this region should be ours for sure.
Because the Germans lived here. In our story, the entry of the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain. He didn't want another war under any circumstances. He thought that if Hitler gave him what he was asking for, he would remain calm and there would be no war. For this reason, a Munich Agreement was signed in September 1938. The settlement of the Czechoslovakian problem, which has now been achieved, is in my view, only the prelude to a larger settlement in which all Europe may find peace. So that the Sudetenland region could be given to Germany. But on the other hand, Hitler promised that there wouldn't be any war. Hitler happily took this part of Czechoslovakia with him. But it didn't take even a year to break the Munich Agreement.
In March 1939, Hitler took his army and invaded the remaining Czechoslovakia. For the first time, there was a little fight here. But the German army won it very easily. And the country was split into two. One part of the country is included in the German territory. And the other part is a Nazi client state. A puppet government. Called the Slovak Republic. British Prime Minister Chamberlain had to endure a lot of criticism because of this. Winston Churchill had famously said at this point of time, You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour and you will have war. Hitler's view on the next country now. which is the country of Poland. In order to take over Poland, Hitler boldly signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union in 1939.
It was obvious that Hitler hated the Soviet Union and the Communists. How did he do that? The only reason behind it was to invade Poland. The Soviet Union also wanted to be a part of Poland. In this situation, the interests of both countries met. On 1st September 1939, about 10 lakh German troops started moving towards Poland. They are planning to attack from the North and the South. At this time, the rest of the countries are shocked. The UK and France feel that they are crossing the line. If Hitler continues to occupy one country after the other, they will be the next in line. What will happen to the world? They can't tolerate it anymore. The UK gives an ultimatum to Hitler. If they invade Poland, they declare war against Germany.
Hitler ignores this ultimatum. As a result, the UK officially declared war on Germany. After that, France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada declared war on Germany as well. UK Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain broadcasts on radio. A state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received. And that consequently, this country is at war with Germany. But at this point of time, World War II didn't actually begin. This period is known as the Phony War. The Phony War is a fake war. To put it bluntly, all these countries declared war on Germany. But none of them provided military support to Poland. And Poland's army was very old-fashioned. They still used horses in their army.
It could not withstand Germany's military strategies. Neither Britain nor France could save them. About 1.3 million people had mobilized from Poland. But it didn't take a week for the German army to defeat them. On 8th September 1939, the German troops seized Poland. It should be mentioned here, friends, about Hitler's Revolutionary Warfare Strategy. It was known as Blitzkrieg. With its help, Hitler successfully invaded many countries. It was a military strategy focused on speed and stealth. We would invade other countries so rapidly using tanks, that others would not get a chance to think. Then our air force would arrive, which was known as Luftwaffe. And the invasion would take place at a lightning speed. The word Blitz means lightning in German. Hitler's focus was to fight the smallest of wars.
Wars that would end as soon as possible, not even for a week. To maintain this Blitzkrieg, German soldiers were given drugs. You heard it right. A drug called Pervitin was very common. Today, we know it as Crystal Meth. When this drug is taken, your tiredness goes away. You don't need to sleep at night. Your hunger and thirst goes away. Your pain goes away. And you gain a strange confidence. Giving such drugs to a soldier, proved to be very advantageous. Although it would be very harmful for their long-term health. But in the short term, to win this battle, it was very useful. On the other hand, the soldiers would waste their time sleeping at night. But the German soldiers would do it day and night, and get their work done in 2-3 days.
You will see in the next episode, how successful the military strategy of Blitzkrieg was for Germany. When Poland returned, not only was it invaded by Hitler, but also by the Soviet Union. After the defeat, Poland was partitioned in two. Half of it went to Nazi Germany and the other half to the Soviet Union. The Soviet logic is that before the Russian Revolution, this area belonged to the Soviets. That's why they deserved it. But from the Soviet perspective, there was another country that was a part of the Russian Empire before 1917. Finland. Stalin feared that Germany would invade Finland. And Stalin didn't trust Hitler that much. The biggest problem was that the city of Leningrad, where Stalin lived, was only 50 km away from the Finnish border.
If Finland had been occupied by Nazi Germany, it would have been very close to Stalin's house. So before waiting for Hitler to take over Finland, the Soviet Union asked Finland to give them its territory. Finland obviously refused. And the Soviet Union launched a military action. against Finland in November 1939. What exactly was the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin thinking? What was his mindset? To understand this in depth, This was an imbalanced battle. The Soviet Union's army was much larger than Finland's. Their equipment was much better too. But the war lasted for more than 2 months, and the Soviets couldn't advance further. Finally, in March 1940, the battle ended, and a Moscow Peace Treaty was signed. Under which Finland gave 11% of its land to the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, Hitler's eyes were not on Finland. but on Norway and Denmark. In April 1940, Hitler prepared his plans to take control of Norway and Denmark.
On 9th April 1940, Hitler used his Blitzkrieg strategy to invade Norway and Denmark. This fight didn't last long. Both were small countries, how could they compete against the German army? The Norwegian government ran towards London, and London was turned into a government in exile. Hitler established a puppet pro-Nazi government in Norway. Britain's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain accepted his failure. He failed because he couldn't save the countries around him from the Nazi invasion. Due to this, on 10th May 1940, he resigned from the position of Prime Minister. I sought an audience of the King this evening, and tendered to him my resignation, which His Majesty has been pleased to accept. His Majesty has now entrusted to my friend and colleague, Mr. Winston Churchill, the task of forming a new administration on a national basis.
The responsibility of the Prime Minister is now given to the infamous Winston Churchill. On the same day, 10th May, Hitler launches an attack against France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. This was an announcement of an all-out war. Everyone could see that Hitler was not going to stop. In the beginning of the video, I had told you how France had formed a Maginot Line. They were already afraid that Hitler might attack their country. So they started building a wall on the border. Now, the French troops stood near this wall to save their country. The fate of Holland and Belgium, like that of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Austria, will be decided by the victory of the British Empire. Allied forces are stationed at the borders of Belgium and Luxembourg to save these countries.
Hitler uses his trademark Blitzkrieg strategy. More than 1,000 fighter-bomber airplanes. Around 30 lakh people on the ground were with the German army for the offence. This battle is called the Battle of France. The German troops are divided into three groups. A, B and C. Group B was to attack the Netherlands. and then went to Belgium to fight the Allied forces. Group C's job was to attack the Maginot Line. And you might ask, what was Group A's plan? Group A actually had a master plan. The attack of Group C on the Magnot Line was just a distraction so that Group A could secretly plan its master plan. Entering France through the Ardennes forest. This forest was a huge jungle, which the military experts of France believed to be a fortress.
The German army would never come through this jungle, because it would be very difficult. They didn't expect that the German army would come through this forest. Using more than 40,000 military vehicles, Group A entered through this forest. On 15th May 1940, they capture Sedan and travel further north. The soldiers of the British and French armies fighting in Belgium with Group B, are shocked to see such a huge force following them. These soldiers are surrounded by the Nazi army in three directions. There's only one way to escape. Towards the sea. Near the port of Dunkirk. And from there, they make a plan to escape. What happened in Dunkirk was a historic moment in the history of World War II. About 400,000 Allied troops were trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk.
When I use the word Allied, it basically means the British and French Army. The countries that were fighting against Hitler, their group, their coalition, were called Allies. And the people who were fighting with Hitler, were called Axis Powers. So it was important to save these Allied soldiers on time, because the Nazi army was advancing very rapidly. They had no way to escape. They could only evacuate through the sea. If they didn't do it on time, 400,000 troops would be killed here. Britain and France would be shocked. Maybe they would lose their country forever. Winston Churchill made a plan to evacuate these soldiers. On 26th May 1940, Operation Dynamo was launched. In the history of military history, it was the biggest evacuation ever. The German army had almost reached the beach on the ground.
They were firing on the troops. The German Air Force was attacking the beach in the sky. Christopher Nolan's historic film, Dunkirk, shows the events that took place here in a very good way. This film focuses on three areas of the evacuation. First, the British Royal Air Force's counter-attack. The British ships that were coming to save the Allied soldiers, the British Air Force should cover them and protect them. Second, there are some private fishing boats in the English Channel. These are ordinary civilians who help in the evacuations. And third, the story of the Dunkirk beach, people are trying to save themselves, helping each other. On 4th June 1940, about 350,000 soldiers were successfully evacuated. As you must have seen in the film. But the bad news is that most of the military equipment of the Allied Forces was destroyed during the evacuation.
A few days later, on 22nd June, 1940, France surrendered to Hitler. At this point in time, the Italian state, which was also ruled by a dictator named Mussolini, formed an alliance with Hitler to wage war against France. The alliance between Italy and Germany is known as the Pact of Steel. Both countries declared war against France and Britain on 10th June. By July 1940, the situation was such that Hitler had occupied almost all the countries around him. Austria, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, France. At this point in time, there were only 3 major countries left in Europe. Hitler's Germany, Britain, and the Soviet Union. There was a peace agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union. So Hitler didn't need to fear the Soviet Union.
The Soviets would never attack Germany. Britain is the only country against Germany. You may ask, what about America? America wasn't involved in World War II. America kept its hands behind them, because after World War I, America said that it had no interest, and that it would keep its hands away from whatever happened in Europe. So it's clear that if the fight is stopped at this time, then Hitler has won this war. Hitler has such a big upper hand. Then how did the situation turn around and Britain was able to defeat Germany? We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender! Let's talk about this story in the next artical.
